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Mark 14:44-50
Jesus has been betrayed with a kiss (Mark 14:44, NKJV), and the multitude sent from the chief priests, scribes, and the elders, “laid their hands on Him and took Him” (Mark 14:46). One of Jesus’ disciples lashed out to protect Him by striking the servant of the high priest with his sword, cutting off his ear (Mark 14:47). But we learn in Luke 22:51 that even this assistance was corrected by Jesus as he healed the servant of the high priest’s ear, preventing any hint of involvement by anyone as Jesus alone must bear the effects of sin alone. The Bible then teaches us in Mark 14:50, “Then they all forsook Him and fled.”
This is the arrest of Jesus.
This is an example of the evils of this world that Satan continues to utilize in lashing out at us still today.
The superficial outward appearance is a problem of great proportions still today. We get so caught up in the persona of who we want everyone to think we are that we lose our true identity of who we really are. Judas came to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and kissed Him. The outward appearance is that of love, but the true intention was betrayal (Mark 14:44-45). And then something happened that would offend every one of us today: “they laid their hands on Him and took Him” (Mark 14:46). This action is such an offense today that it is grounds for termination in the workplace. Yet many people in the workplace are not even aware of why we are so offended by this gesture. They laid their hands on Jesus and took Him, falsely accused Him, convicted Him, beat Him, and crucified Him for the same actions that we continue to do to one another still today, so that we may be set free from these things if we will believe in what He has done for us on the cross. Romans 6:10-11 declares, “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Dear LORD,
As this daily devotional Bible study will launch the day after Easter, please help us to realize that what Jesus has done for us is not to be celebrated only one day of the year and then forgotten until the next; but that we would be reminded every day of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross so that we may be set free from the grasp of the devil and the sins that he plagues us with each day. Please help us to see the importance of following in the way of Jesus – that our lives would be changed by His power working in us through Your Holy Spirit. Please let it be so LORD, please let it be so. In the name of Jesus, amen.